


Home

by Flying_Flitwicks



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Discord: HMS Harmony, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Pre-Hogwarts, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25187413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flying_Flitwicks/pseuds/Flying_Flitwicks
Summary: When Hermione Granger died, The Fates asked what she wanted."A friend," she answered softly."Have patience, Hermione Jane Granger."
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 117





	Home

The Fates looked mournfully at the scene before them.

Their little girl ran across the street with her eyes closed, a book clutched in her arms, as the tears poured down her face.

Her name was Hermione and she was their favourite child.

_(But don't tell that to Death…)_

They watched her live a thousand different lives and conquer endless struggles.

They watched her in the shadows, always wanting to interfere, never stepping out of the darkness.

But when the boy had gone, they knew she would follow him.

_She always did._

A loud scream echoed in their soul.

They knew their little girl was gone.

A golden string wrapped around their hands. It was soft, welcoming, and warm.

"You have always been kind, little girl."

* * *

When Hermione Granger died, The Fates asked what she wanted.

"A friend," she answered softly.

The Fates tilted their heads and smiled at each other.

Her brows were contorted in confusion. She wanted to know what was amusing.

"Have patience, Hermione Jane Granger," they said simultaneously.

She wanted to ask how long—where was she—why was she alone—but she felt something tickle her ankle. For a moment, she stared at it, mesmerized at its smooth, playful movements and how it glittered against the light. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips as she tried pushing it away from her. But the golden string had a mind of its own as it shot up, grabbed onto her wrist and guided her to a tiny door.

The door was tiny, looking like it was made for a dog. She dropped on her knees and knocked on it.

"I am neither a guest nor a trespasser, to this place I belong, it belongs also to me," the door spoke.

"Home," she breathed out. "You are home."

"Welcome, Hermione Jane Granger."

And so Hermione began spending her days in a place where it was warm, bright and airy. It was filled with books she could read all day.

* * *

She was on her thirty-third book when they came back to her.

The Fates introduced her to a soft-spoken boy with warm green eyes and black hair as messy as hers.

"I'm Harry," he said to her. "They said we were supposed to be friends."

"A friend," she echoed.

"You're my first friend."

Hermione grabbed his hand to assure herself that he was real. A friend. She didn't know how, but she knew that the words he spoke were real.

"I know, Harry. You're mine too," she said, looking into his eyes.

Before the sun had set, Harry became Hermione's friend.

They spent their mornings running across the long corridor of nothingness, trying to catch the golden string that kept tickling them. On some days, they watched The Fates fiddle with their mural of silver strings.

"Ciara gets the string somewhere, Lottie connects the string somewhere, Tess cuts the string somewhere."

"What do you mean by somewhere?"

Harry smiled sheepishly at her, idly playing with the golden string in his hands. She stared at it, mesmerized as the string moved like ripples on his fingers. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask them. Nat says you're their favourite. She tells me some things because I'm her favourite."

"I've never been anyone's favourite," she muttered under her breath.

Hermione wanted to ask them what they were doing. She wanted to ask them everything. Before the words could escape her mouth, she heard the whispers of the words she heard on her very first day, _"Have patience, Hermione Jane Granger."_

And so Hermione left it at that.

They spent their nights reading books in the place where it was warm, dark and airy. The couch became their usual place, opting to sit themselves on each end with their legs piled on top of another. The simplicity of it all made her smile and the soft crackling sounds from the fireplace felt like she was getting closer to Hestia's embrace.

"What did you wish for, Harry?" she asked, closing her eyes. Her voice felt like a sharp knife against the silence.

"A family," he answered softly.

* * *

The following day, Hermione met James and Lily Potter.

They regaled her with stories of adventure and love. They described a place called 'Hogwarts' and how they found friends and family in that place. They told her stories of a man who could turn into a dog and a man who turns into a werewolf.

"They were my brothers in all but blood," James claimed.

They entertained her with stories of knowledge they gained, of friendships they severed, and of love they found.

"Friendship, bravery, and love," Lily remarked with knowing eyes.

They told her a story of two people who loved their son deeply, so deeply, that they sacrificed their young lives to save him.

Hermione cried and hugged the two people she would have loved to meet in her lifetime.

"It's unfair! You didn't have to leave!" she cried.

"There are things Death cannot touch, Hermione," James said as he pulled Harry into his arms.

"Like love, Hermione," Lily continued, gathering Hermione in her arms before joining James and Harry in their embrace.

"Because the ones who love us never really leave us."

* * *

After finishing her second book of the day, Hermione finally spoke. "Do we have to go back, Harry?"

"It's up to us."

"Do you want to?" she asked feebly.

"Do you want to?" he returned with an intensity that surprised her.

"I don't want to lose my friend," she answered him. "Wherever you'll be…I'll go with you."

"You won't lose me, Hermione."

Hermione tried to stop the tears from pouring out of her eyes, ultimately failing to keep them at bay when it felt like hundreds of souls were weeping on her behalf.

"You're my home, Hermione. I'll always find you."

* * *

Months passed after waking up in a cold, bright and white room. Hermione Granger healed but her soul did not. She was alive…but she knew that part of her went missing.

A part that she had found again but ripped away from the tips of her fingers.

"Harry," three familiar voices whispered to her.

The name sounded like a soft lullaby to her ears.

"Harry," she echoed.

She knew that name.

She remembered.

She remembered Harry and his warm green eyes and hair as messy as hers. She remembered James and Lily, and the men who could turn into a dog and a werewolf. She remembered all their tales of friendship, bravery and love. She remembered the castle called—

"Hogwarts," she breathed out. Her hands trembled as she tried to smoothen the crumpled edges of the letter in front of her.

Hermione could taste the magic in the air now. It tasted like sadness in the shadows of the trees and in the glow of the glistening moonlight. It tasted like she had unearthed centuries worth of happiness that she could fly and explore the endless skies.

"Have patience, Hermione Jane Granger," The Fates whispered to her.

And so Hermione devoured all the books she could find about Hogwarts, the Wizarding Wars, and Harry James Potter.

* * *

Hermione saw it.

She barely saw it, but she knew what it was.

She had isolated herself in a cabin and stuck her nose with _Hogwarts: A History_ when she felt a whisper of a touch by her ear. Little gashes of gold swam at the side of her face, moving like ripples on the surface of the sea.

"Harry," she gasped.

She found herself stalking the long corridors of the Hogwarts Express. The students walked past her; some wore peculiar clothing with a friend in hand, while some wore clothing like hers, coupled with astonished gazes that adorned her face not long ago.

The liveliness of the corridor was a stark contrast to the corridor of nothingness she got used to running...but here she was, attempting to catch the golden string again.

"Excuse me, have you seen my toad?"

"I—" Hermione paused, thinking what to do. She wanted to find Harry, but after a quick glance past the boy in front of her, she knew that the golden string had gone.

"I have not. Have you tried reporting it to the prefects? I read that they can help us with our grievances," she said. "I can take you to them. They're supposed to be seated in front."

"Please, thank you," he blurted out, looking shocked as if he wasn't expecting to receive any help from her. Nodding to himself, he reached out a hand to her, "I'm Neville."

Neville. _New town._ Hermione smiled to herself. It was fitting as they were set to arrive at a new place where they'll be living for the next seven years. She reached for his hand. "I'm Hermione."

* * *

Hermione sighed in relief when cabin thirty-three entered her vision.

She quickly entered and smoothened her new robes before sitting down. The boisterous presence of the other students were getting to her and she wanted nothing but to drown them out with a book. She moved to open her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ when the compartment door slid open in front of her.

"Found you, Hermione," said a boy with warm green eyes and black hair as messy as hers.

For a beat, Hermione could only stare at him. He looked tired as if he had been looking for her. He looked thin...she was certain he was thinner than the average boy of their age. But his eyes—his eyes were brighter...warm and alive.

"Harry," she finally breathed out. She pulled him inside the cabin and leapt into his waiting arms. Grabbing the back of his robes with a sense of urgency she failed to conceal, she wanted to assure herself that he was real...that he came back with her to the land of the living. "What took you so long?"

Harry hugged her tighter and she closed her eyes to the sound of his laughter.

"I lied, Hermione," he confessed softly. "I didn't wish for a family. I wished for home."

"Did you find it?"

"Yes."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was originally posted as a drabble or wacky AU in the Harmony discord. Ciara is Clotho, Lottie is Latchesis, Tess is Atropos, and Nat is Thanatos.


End file.
